Clutch.



W. SMITH.

' CLUTCH. l

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 16, 1912.

1,082,651` Pafntel4 Dec. 3041913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

21E: Lx EL 1 A. /Q

W. SMITH.

CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1s, 1912.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

OGLUMBIA PLgmoolAPH WARREN SMITH, OF SAPULPA, OKLAI-IOM THOMPSON, ONE-FOURTH T0 ELEANO A, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO ANNA B. R A. SMITH, AND THREE-SIXTEENTHS T0 ELBERT C. WALLACE, ALL OF SAPULPA, OKLAHOMA.

CLUTCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

Application led May 16, 1912. Serial No. 697,743.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, WARREN SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sapulpa, in the county of Creek and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clutches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in clutches of the expansible segment type, the present invention being designed for use as a clutch and brake for motorcycles, automobiles, or other vehicles, or merely as a clutch for connecting together two shafts, it being understood that the invention is applicable for several uses and that it is not confined to the adaptations illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The invention has for its primary object a simple, durable and eiiicient construction of clutch device, the parts of which are so arranged that they will work positively and not be liable to get out of order. And the invention also aims to generally improve devices of this class and to render them more useful and commercially desirable.

YWith these and other objects in view, as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the constructions, arrangements, and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, illustrating one embodiment of my invention as incorporated in the hub of the driving or rear wheel of a motorcycle or the like; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the device; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the expansible segments; Fig. 6 is an inner face view of one of the rings; Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the device arranged as a clutch for connecting together the ad- Joining ends of two shafts; Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view through the device illustrated in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7, illustrating a hand lever which may be used to operate the device; and Fig. 10 is a sectional view illustrating still another embodiment of the invention.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and deslgnated in the accompanying drawings by like reference characters.

In that embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to G inclusive, the numeral 1 designates a wheel hub which is provided at its ends with bearing rings designated 2 and 3, said rings being respectively formed with ball races which co-act with corresponding races on rings 4 and 5, anti-friction balls 6 being interposed between said races, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. 7 designates the axle, said axlebeing provided with a cone bearing 8 for antifriction balls 9 and being mounted at its ends in frame members which are indicated at 10. The shaft 7 is threaded to hold the ring 4 in fixed relation thereto. A spool 11 is contained within the hub 1, said spool being formed intermediate of its ends with an annular rib 12, the periphery of the spool on opposite sides of said rib being formed with cam surfaces 13, the cam surfaces of one peripheral portion extending in opposite directions from the cam surfaces of the other peripheral portion. Mounted on the cam surfaces 13 are expansible segments 14, there being two sets o-f such segments, one set being held separated from the other by the rib 12. The outer faces of one pair of segments are ribbed and grooved, as idicated at 15, (see Fig. 5), for engagement by interlocking ribs and grooves 16 formed on one face of a ring 17. The ring 17 is formed on its outer face with a preferably toothed rim 18 designed for engagement with the teeth 19 that are formed on the inner face of the ring 4. The opposite pair of the segments 14 are correspondingly connected in interlocked relation to a ring 2O which is formed on its l thereby force the segments out outer face with teeth 21 designed to mesh with corresponding teeth formed on the inner face of the ring 3. The interior of the spool 1l is formed with a spiral thread 22 and designed for engagement with the threaded inner end of a spindle 23, said spindle being designed to carry a sprocket wheel or other driv'ng element which is in dicated in Figs. 1 and 2 at 24.

From as much of the description as has preceded, in connection with the correlated views of the accompanying drawings, it will be understood that when motion is imparted to the sprocket wheel 24 in a direction to drive the vehicle forwardly, the threaded engagement between the spindle 23 and the spool 1l will draw the spool to the right as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 so as to effect the engagement of the rings 20 and 3 and the spool 11 will be rotated so that the cam surfaces thereon will serve to expand the seg ments which will firmly grip the inner surface of the hub 1. A reverse movement imparted to the sprocket 24 will manifestly shift the spool 11 toward the left, whereby the teeth 18 and 19 will interlock to hold the ring 17 stationary, and the rotation of the spool will cause the other segments to expand on their cam surfaces so as to produce a braking action on the hub. Vhen the sprocket Qet is not rotated in either direction, the spool 11 will merely maintain a neutral position and none of the segments vil be forced o-ut into engagement with the iu In that embodiment of the invention illus trated in Fig. 7, the spool is designated 11a and is formed with cam surfaces 25 on which the segments 26 are mounted. The segments are formed on their outer faces with grooves and ribs which interlock with corresponding parts formed on a ring 27 which is held in turn on the reduced neck 2.8 of the spool 11"', being held in position by a collar 29 fixed on a shaft section 30 to which the spool 11a is also fixed. 31 designates a corresponding shaft section which abuts against the end of the shaft section 30 and carries a relatively fixed casing 32 against which the segments 26 are designed to be expanded so as to couple one shaft to the other. 1n order to turn the ring 27, the same is provided with a grooved neck 33 on which a hand lever 84 is mounted, as illustrated in Fig. 9.

In that embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 10, the device is indicated as an expanding brake for the hub of an automobile wheel, the spool being designated 11b, the casing being designated 32 and t-he segments being designated 35. 36 designates a link. which is secured to the spool so as to turn the same around and into engagement with the hub casing 32a. The link 36 may be connected in any desired way to a hand lever or foot pedal operable by the driver of the machine, but as such connection does not, of itself, form any part of the present invention, I have not illustrated it. 1n the operation of this form of the invention, it is to be understood that the segments 11b are connected to a collar like that illustrated in Fig. 6, such collar being fixed to the frame of the vehicle. Then pressure is applied to the brake lever, the segment-s are prevented from rotating by engagement with the part illustrated in Fig. 6, but are permitted to move out against the casing 32a in an obvious manner.

As best illustrated in Fig. 2, the cams and segments are movably connected together by laterally disposed projections 40a and correspondingL grooves 41a, whereby the segments are held down on the spool and returned to their original position when reuired.

`While the accompanying drawings illustrate what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed i.i:-

l. A device of the character described including a hub, an axle mounted within said hub, a spindle mounted on said axle, an interiorly threaded spool having threaded engagement with said spindle, said spool being formed with oppositely disposed cam surfaces, segments mcunted on said cam surfaces, a pair of rings mounted on said spool and adapted for interlocking engagement with said segments, a ring` mounted on said hub and adapted for engagement with one of the first mentioned rings, a ring mounted on said axle and adapted for engagement with the other of said first mentioned rings, and means for shifting said spool, as and for the purpose described.

2. A device of the character described, including a hub,'an axle mounted within said hub, a spindle mounted on said axle, a spool provided with oppositely disposed cam surfaces mounted on said spindle, toothed rings, one of said rings mounted in said hub and the other ring mounted on said axle, segments mounted on the cam surfaces, rings interlocking with said segments, and means for shifting said spool to the right or to the left, whereby to effect the engagement of one pair of rings and permit of the disengagement of the other pair.

3. A device of the character described, intween said segments and cams, for the purcluding a spool formed with cam faces, eX- pose specified. 10 pansible segments mounted on said faces, In testimony whereof I hereunto afix my means for relatively turning the segments signature in the presence of two witnesses.

and the spool, whereby to expand the seg- WARREN SMITH. ments, a casing against which the segments Witnesses:

are designed to be expanded, and interlock- E. C. WALACE,

ing groove and projection connections be- E. MAE CARBON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

